Episode 50.3 — Infinite Crisis

This week on View from the Gutters our topic work is our 3-part 50th Episode Special! In part 3 we discuss Infinite Crisis, written by Geoff Johns with art by Phil Jimenez, Jerry Ordway, George Perez, Iven Reis, and Andy Lanning. Released almost exactly 20 years after the first Crisis, Infinite Crisis is the event that bought the multiverse back to DC.

Infinite Crisis is both a direct sequel and homage to Crisis on Infinite Earths. It sees the Superman of Earth-2, Superboy of Earth-Prime, and Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 returning from the pocket dimension they traveled to at the end of the first crisis in order to correct their perceived mistakes in creating the current DC Universe. In the process they cause a massive war between heroes and villains, literally break magic, shatter the Justice League, and threaten to destroy the universe.

It is the capstone of two decades of DC continuity, and with this book our journey from Crisis to Crisis is at an end. We hope that you enjoyed our 50th episode. We’ll be back next week returning to our usual format, discussing the book we picked in episode 49, The Manhatten Projects.

2 comments on “Episode 50.3 — Infinite Crisis”

Instead of making one of these posts for each of these books, I’m just going to make a blanket post about DC Comics I guess.

I have not re-read any of these books in a few years, but I have very clear memories of each of them as they were very definitive comics to me. Coming into superhero comics for the first time in 2007, Identity Crisis was still the flavor of the day and Infinite Crisis had ended only two summers previously. I made a conscious decision to pretty much ignore all pre-Crisis DC Comic books and only focused on the current continuity. After diving into Identity Crisis (I’m almost positive this is one the first superhero books I’ve ever read), I jumped into Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The volume is dense, like you guys said, very text heavy, but with a lot of movement. I don’t think that the text aged terribly well, but the scope and size of the story was phenomenal. As an early introduction to comic books, Infinite Earths made me eager to learn about a lot of DC heroes that were less prominent than the Justice League standards. Marv Wolfman and George Perez were no doubt titans in their day.

Identity Crisis hit hard when I first read it. It spoke a lot about the comics of the era: violent, “mature”, destroying old continuity. I was blown away when I was younger. It was my first moment of “superheroes aren’t supposed to have to deal with that!” Quite refreshing at the time. Now, I think the story in much of the same terms that Joe does. I find it emotional manipulative with too many cheap moments spread throughout the book. As a mystery, the book works well. Though the continuity is flimsy, there were a good number of character moments that made lasting impression on me.

Infinite Crisis is a beast. A horrid, wretched hellbeast that haunts the nightmares of casual readers. There are moments, small parts, where I was entertained, but it is ultimately a boring, ridiculous event. (Though, guys, c’mon, Chemo bombing Bludhaven is hilarious! He’s just a giant blob!) I’ve read all the buildup and all the fall out. It was cool at the time, but putting that much effort ruined recommending it to anyone. It affects a lot of really great runs from the era. (I’m looking at you Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman.) Geoff Johns is rather atrocious, save for a few comics. I think it says a lot that he’s the biggest writer I can think of without a significant creator owned book underneath him. He’s a team player. And if that’s what DC wants, man, fuck, I’m out at this point.

I think it’s a shame you guys won’t do Final Crisis as well. Sure, it’s absolutely batshit insane, but doesn’t that merit conversation? It’s one of my favorite crossover events I’ve ever read. Though I think that speaks more to the weaknesses of crossover events rather than the strengths of Final Crisis as a work. Either way, I think there are a ton of clever moments in FC, but I also understand that not everybody as fanatic about Morrison as I am.

Hey Bryan, thanks for the comments. Excellent points. It’s totally my fault for not creating a reddit thread this past week. A lot of stuff was happening and it just kind of got away from me. I’ll make sure to have one up tomorrow though.

If I can help it, we WILL talk about Final Crisis at some point, and 52 I’m sure will come around in due time.